Update 6: The Ford Museum and Greenfield Village, MI

The short trip from Shipshewana, IN to Ypsilanti, MI took us by more cornfields and more houses surrounded by neatly trimmed large lawns. Several times we rose over a small hill to descend into a "village".  The Village of Jonesville was established in 1828.  As old and new collide we found several cemeteries just inches from the roadway. One cemetery was positioned in the strip of land between a grocery store parking lot and the busy city street.  When Wal-Mart stores began to appear, they were constructed of brick...nice looking buildings.

The Detroit-Greenfield Campground became an experience in itself. The RV park lived as a KOA in a former lifetime. The lake belongs to the campground and offers boating, fishing and a swim area. A couple of graceful white swans also reside there.  I had made reservations before leaving home.  Apparently they forgot we wanted two sites together. The solution was to move Lynn and Jay next to our assigned spot #27.
Problem:  someone was in # 27  One lady had them checked out. So...we were to wait in #106.  When the owners of the RV returned, we discovered they had rechecked in and paid for the night. Office mix-up. We were told we could have it the next day. OK, but we will be gone touring before checkout time. So we moved to #64 for the day.  We returned later.  Someone new is in #27. Office mix-up.  We were moved to #109.  Now we just discovered that they billed us for both our site and Stauss' site, even though Lynn gave them her card. You can guess how we feel about this place.  Oh, well...

While here Jay and Lynn purchased a new bike rack and we made a trip to the Post Office to mail some updates to those who don't have computers.

The Ford Museum and Greenfield Village are located in Dearborn, MI just a little SW of Detroit and about an half hour drive from the campground. Many thanks to whoever suggested this as a "must see"! It certainly is!  The 12 acre museum building "tells stories of men and women whose vision and courage changed the world around them." (from pamphlet)

Jay, Lynn and Derrille waiting for me to finishing photographing the front of the Henry Ford Museum.

The exhibits chronicle the development of Transportation and how the inventions affected our lives. Buggies, sleighs, railroads  and cars consume a large part of the museum. We were impressed that the  information presented all sides of the issues.  In the buggy/coach section, Ford acquired the carriage that Tom Thumb and his family used. Tom Thumb was a real person, a midget, who worked for the Barnum and Bailey Circus. Derrille stood by the carriage to give it some perspective.

I don't know if this close up of Tom Thumb's carriage will show.

The railroad section included the mammoth Allegheny Locomotive of 1941.  It was so tall it nearly touched the ceiling and so long I couldn't fit it all into one photo. Visitors were allowed into the cab of this coal driven engine. The heat created with the coal must have been stifling and smelly for the engineers. Here are the guys in the cab.

 One of the first trains made just added flanges to stage coach wheels and placed them on rails. This is the DeWitt train.

The evolution of the car shows all cars, not just Fords. Unions were also a focus. The development of the car is viewed by walking down a curving highway-like path. At the end of the path Ford shows how the love of the car brought forth a mobile society in need of service stations, restaurants, motels, and eventually fast food. The museum has real life size signs of service stations and fast food logos.

A row of presidential cars. include these three among others.

Teddy Roosevelt's Brougham circa 1902

Franklin Delano Roosevelt's Sunshine Special
   1939 Lincoln

The Kennedy car, 1961 Lincoln in which he was assassinated.

Sections are devoted to the bicycle, motorized bikes,and  racing cars An interesting fact informed us that as the bicycle became a favored form of transportation, it was responsible for the invention of womens' bloomers.

The aviation section highlighted the birth of the airplane, Wright Brothers, Amelia Earhart, Lindbergh and the creation of air mail to name a few. Some of the airmail stories show the trials and daring akin to the pony express riders.

The Liberty and Justice section displays exhibits of Women's Suffrage, Slavery and Emancipation, Lincoln and Rosa Parks to name a few.  Lincoln's red velvet chair from the theater is on display. The actual bus where Rosa took her seat is also here. However, Rosa's story as told here isn't as we remember it.  The story seems to have been revised a bit.

A large area was devoted to monstrous Machinery: huge water pumps, grist mills, electric dynamos, lathe, cotton gin, gear cutter, and a band saw taller than me.  A horse on a treadmill to provide horse drawn power stood there also. I didn't spend a lot of time here.  Several men delved into the exhibits while their wives sat on benches near by.

Farm Machinery filled another space with the biggest to the smallest on display. Derrille stood next to this small 1929 caterpillar tractor.  He thought you "lunch bunch" guys would like this.

The1946 Dynahouse inventor was ahead of his time. This round house suspended from a single pole, 18 inches above the ground, had a reason for every part. For instance instead of trying to seal the metal sheets of the roof to keep out the rain, u-shaped gutters were added indoors. The rain came through the roof to the gutters and then ran into a rainwater cistern below the house.  You can find variations on his inventions in today's RVs.

A Timeline through the decades showing products, important events and trends of that decade takes up a small section of the museum.  Small hallway exhibits of Jewelry, Clocks, and Pewter fit between the courtyards of the building.

Restaurants at both ends of the museum offer a place to sit down and refuel. We chose the Michigan Cafe....perhaps the Weinermobile Cafe would have been a better choice. Two gift shops offer and interesting stock of mementos. An IMAX theater offers educational and modern film choices.

Greenfield Village buildings use about 81 acres of the land designated as village property. Henry Ford gathered the actual homes and work buildings of his contemporaries and others that allow visitors to step back into a earlier time.   The village includes Ford's Model T, Edison at Work, Porches and Parlors, Main Street, Liberty Craftworks, the Working Farms and the Railroad.

We began our visit with a train ride around the property to get an overview before we began walking.

Jay has a little problem wearing wrist bands. Here the depot helper puts a stamp on Jay.  Wearing the wristband lets you ride any mode of transportation in the park, all day long. Jay carried his wristband in his pocket.  Of course we noticed that no one seemed to check for it.

Ford's Model T section includes his actual family home, workshop and school.  The four of us took our Model T rides around the neighborhood from here.We were in one car, and Stauss' in another. The ride attentant offers to take your picture if you have a camera.

Lynn and Jay's photo is on her camera.

Main Street has original houses and shops generally found on Main Street. Some examples include: the Wright Brothers shop and family home, the Heintz family home, a general store, a chapel, a court house, a doctors house, the carousel and several eating places.  This photo shows the Wright brothers family home.

We chose to have lunch at the Eagle Tavern and partake of its authentic 1850 recipes. The building originally was built as a roadhouse in the early 19th century.  The entry way was dark and only lit by candles. Inside the dining room chandeliers with candles and a single candle in a hurricane lamp glass per table provide the light. Without the windows and a sunny day you would be dining in a very dark environment. Salt was provided in a pinch dish. Coffee was poured from small pewter pots Each table sat 8-10 people. Wait staff were dresses in clothing from that era. We did enjoy the food and the Eagle Tavern experience.

Porches and Parlors consists of about 25 original structures, mostly homes. Visitors get to go inside the homes of George Washington Carver, Robert Frost, Noah Webster, Thomas Edison, Stephan Foster, and others.  The Cotswold Cottage and Forge comes from England. It also houses a tea room.  A windmill, farmhouse,  boarding house and plantation house can be explored. 
Noah Webster's house is on the left, and the Susquehanna plantation house is on the right.

There is even a covered bridge that we walked across and rode a horse-drawn shuttle across.

This is considered a shuttle. One is open like then, and one is more enclosed. We didn't try the bus.

Edison at Work shows his offices and labs.  Thomas Edison was a good friend of Henry Ford. This section was a paradigm shift for me.  I've always pictured Edison working mostly alone in his lab. With this exhibit I learned that he employed a great number of people and wanted to invent something new every day.

The Railroad section has a real train roundhouse and station. It houses the engines used in the train ride. It provides demonstrations on the workings of a round house.

Liberty Craftworks include: glass blowing, printing, weaving, pottery and sawmills.  Artisans create wares for the gift shops. Demonstrations are given throughout the day.

Lynn and I met Margaret, this lovely lady in the print shop.  She has worked for Greenfield Village for six years.  She used to work in the machinery shop. She said at first she was scared of the big machinery, but she came to love it. That's the exhibit where visitors can make candle holders. Then an opening came up in the print shop and they asked her to work there.  Notice that she is not as tall as the printing press.

The Firestone Farm remains a working farm. We watched corn being mowed by a horse drawn team. All the teams of horses work in the same team and have appropriate names for the village.  The farm duo was Noah and Webster. 
Wilbur and Orville had to be changed when Wilbur was retired.  Now it's Orville and Jim. Doc and Howard are named after the doctor's office located on Main Street.

A variety of daily programs are offered throughout the park.  Some are skits, some have music, some are demonstrations and in some places you can make candles, candle holders or blow glass.

Another wonderful adventure! Another wonderful day!

However the day wasn't quite done. I knew my camera contained hundreds of photos. So we decided to take advantage of the nearby Wal-Mart in Dearborn. Run the photos, go to dinner, and pick up photos...wrong!  It takes a while to download and fix the photos for printing.  I finished at 7pm to discover the entire photo crew had gone to lunch. Our order wouldn't even be started until 8 pm and thus not ready until after 9.  Oh well, we went to dinner and returned to check on the order a little after 9. They were about 1/3 done. The photo counter closes at 9:30, but Christie said she worked until 10 and would keep it going.  After the machine ran out of paper she reloaded.  She left at 10 and turned the process over to Jack. About 10:30 we took our 800 photos and headed for the door.  The order was doubled so Lynn and I could each have the photos taken.  The day had been in the high 80's and we were dressed appropriately. As we exited the doors rain pelted down in torrents, the wind blew sideways at gale force, lightening flashed, and thunder rolled. What a surprise!  Driving home was yet another adventure.  We got soaked just getting back into the RVs. The storm blew over and the sun returned with its heat the next day.

We chose not to visit downtown Detroit, but to head for Niagara Falls.